Story Time
by cup-of-sleuth
Summary: Levy is bedridden after getting extremely sick, and Gajeel takes it upon himself to nurse her back to health. Even if he ends up looking like an idiot in the process. [One-shot based on a prompt]


_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail_

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_Story Time_

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"Ah…ah…_achoo!_" A cute high pitched sneeze came from one of the tables in the guild. "I-is someone talking about me..?" Levy rubbed her nose, but as much as she wished superstition was the cause for her adorable sneeze, the scratch in the back of her throat said it was probably more than that.

"I wish I sneezed like you do, Levy, it's so cute when you do it." Lucy both complained and complimented at the same time. "I sound like a freight train when I sneeze… or at least, that's what Natsu has said. N-not like I actually believe it."

Levy giggled despite her growing sore throat. "Thank you, Lu, but It's reasons like that why some people don't take me seriously though."

"Who doesn't take you seriously? Everyone in the guild knows how brilliant you are. I'm not sure there is anyone who doesn't look up to y-"

"Was that you making that strange noise, Shrimp?" A large, rough hand rested on top of her head, flattening her hair and making her slouch from it's weight. She didn't have to look to know who the hand and the voice belonged to. In her mind she could already see his long unruly black hair jutting in every direction. Studs covering his sharp face along his eyebrow line, nose, and chin. The studs even dotted some of his muscular limbs. His piercing dragon red eyes stared down at her from his towering height. His voice was strong and coarse. Levy's bottom lip stuck out in a pout and her cheeks dusted a nearly invisible pink. He also happened to be the answer to Lucy's question.

"I'm not a shrimp…" She mumbled, "And that noise was a sneeze, Gajeel, haven't you ever heard a sneeze before?" She didn't like how Lucy grinned knowingly. As best friends they'd confessed to each other their deepest secrets. One of Levy's deepest secrets just so happened to be leaning on her head right now.

He scoffed, "Of course I've heard a sneeze before, Shrimp, what kind of stupid question is that?" He let go of her head, "That just didn't sound like a sneeze."

"Everyone sneezes differently!" She crossed her arms, "For instance Natsu accidentally breathes fire sometimes when he sneezes! And Lucy sneezes like a freight train."

"H-hey!"

"And your sneeze sounds like you're trying to break a mountain." She continued, despite her best friend's glare. "I-I just so happen to sound like… a um…"

"A kitten?" Lucy said, now grinning instead of glaring, causing poor Levy's blush to lift to her cheeks a little more.

"I… I sneeze like a kitten… I suppose…" It sounded so silly to say it. And as if to prove her point, Happy sneezed too, and the difference was just their voices.

"Hm. Break a mountain huh?" He obviously hadn't paid attention to that last statement of hers, part of her was thankful but most of her felt hurt and ignored. He was the one who'd come to talk to her after all, and yet he wasn't listening.

She sneezed again.

Rubbing her nose she was starting to realize the heat in her cheeks wasn't entirely from embarrassment. They were too warm and she wasn't really that embarrassed. "Seriously that's not a sneeze, that's like," he shrugged, not finishing the thought.

"Fine…" There was no point in arguing it, he wasn't listening to her anyways. Still, he hovered there for a minute and she could feel his eyes on the back of her head even though he was watching her from the corner of his eye. His arms crossed in defiance of something unknown. Eventually he walked away.

"Levy are you feeling alright? You look kind of pale…" Lucy reached over and placed her hand on the blue haired girl's forehead. The look on her best friend's face confirmed it to her, she had a fever. "Hot… Should I get Jet and Droy?"

"No… I don't want to worry them right now, I think I'll just go home and get some rest." Levy stood up, Gajeel had vanished, at least he wasn't anywhere in the guild she could see. "It's probably nothing anyways."

"I can come with you to look after you if you want." Lucy offered but Levy held up her hands in protest.

"I'll be fine, Lu! I can take care of myself."

Is was she said before she'd left the guild, but her cold was catching up with her fast now that she was walking through the streets of Magnolia. Perhaps it was the physical activity that was weakening her body paired with her dizzying fever that made her head spin. She knew the city like the back of her hand thanks to maps she'd memorized but she'd almost gotten lost five times. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been lost in Magnolia. The afternoon midsummer sun was beating down on her too, that was probably what had sped up the effects of the fever. She leaned against one of the stone buildings, but the wall was just as hot as the sun's rays. She'd have asked for help if it weren't for the fact everyone was staying inside their cool homes right now and not daring to walk through the hot streets. She was practically alone.

"L-let me think… that street leads to… and that way is… If I go…" She muttered to herself, sliding down to sit on the cobblestone and rest for a moment, but her legs didn't want to muster up the strength to stand. She closed her eyes. "I should have let Jet and Droy help me like Lu suggested." But she hadn't felt this bad when she'd left the guild, she hadn't foreseen her condition worsening so quickly like it had.

"Hey." She recognized a voice. "You're gonna cook out here, Shrimp."

* * *

"Where is Levy?" Jet and Droy asked simultaneously, the mention of the small fairy tail wizard caught Gajeels hearing. He wasn't anywhere near them but his dragon slayer magic gave his hearing a slight advantage, plus he never missed what people had to say about the tiny girl.

"She went home. She was starting to get a fever so she decided to go rest. She didn't want to worry you guys." The blonde celestial wizard answered. "She said she was fine though… but I'm still a little worried. It's hotter than hot today, plus her fever?"

"We should go after her-"

"I'll go look for her." Gajeel appeared by them, interrupting one of the two members of Team Shadow Gear that stood there. He didn't care which one it was. He wasn't find of those two anyways. "She couldn't have gone far."

"You have no ri-"

"Please, Gajeel? I really am worried about her." Lucy pleaded, this time she interrupted both of the the men. They growled in frustration. The blonde appeared to have some other intentions, he could see it behind her eyes but he didn't question it.

"You don't have to beg. I was gonna do it anyways." He was already off, walking out of the guild hall. It hadn't been too long since Levy had left but the girl was fast, he assumed she'd probably be pretty far by now. Not only that but she was strong, he doubted a fever could really bring the girl down. After all she had carried him miles across Tenroujima without giving up. She was a tough shrimp. But Lucy had been right, it was hotter than the Salamander's breath. The metal that adorned his skin would be scorching to the touch if he sat out in this sun for long. Even the healthiest person would get faint from dehydration in this weather. He glanced down alley's as he walked, she should know her way home but the alley's were shaded and dehydration could make people delusional. At least Gajeel thought that was the case.

"Where'd you wander off to, Shrimp?" He glanced around, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He thought he heard footsteps coming from his left so he turned down the alley in that direction.

"…and that way is… If I go…" He heard a familiar girl's voice mutter from several feet ahead, although it was strained and faint. She didn't sound like she was doing well. There was some silence as he walked in that direction, then he heard her voice again around a corner. "I should have let Jet and Droy help me like Lu suggested." She didn't sound good and he didn't like it. He'd never quite forget what he did to her back when Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were at war. Since then he'd made it a priority to look after her. He turned the corner and sure enough there she was, slumped over and sitting on the street, her back against a wall.

"Hey." He walked up to her, crossing his arms and looking down at her frail figure. "You're gonna cook out here, Shrimp." She really did look sick, her face was red and she was obviously fatigued and dehydrated from the heat.

"Gajeel…" Levy almost sounded relieved, but she barely reacted as he crouched down and picked her up into his arms. Her head lolled against his chest and she was breathing heavily. He needed to get her home. She closed her eyes.

"Hey, it's rude to fall asleep in company. Even I know that." He said, trying to keep her awake until he got to Fairy Hills. "How you feeling, Shrimp?"

"I'm… not a shrimp…" she muttered. Good, she was still herself.

"Whatever you say, Shrimp." He grinned. Holy hell was it hot out here, no wonder she was passing out. He wondered how much of her body heat was from the fever and how much was just from exposure to the sun. She winced a little when her skin touched one of the studs on his arms, the metal that covered his body was probably hot enough to fry an egg at this point. He tried to hold her so that she didn't touch any more of it.

Finally he saw their destination getting closer. It was a good thing too because Levy looked like she was practically frying from the combined heat of her fever and the sun. Gajeel walked a little faster, not quite running so that he didn't make her uncomfortable. She seemed so fragile right now. "Hang in there, Shrimp. We're almost there." She didn't seem to have the strength to answer him, but she opened her eyes briefly and smiled at him. He swore it was the heat that made his iron heart melt a little bit.

He carried her up the hill and into the dorm building. The difference in temperature was overwhelming. Gajeel almost thought he'd go into shock from the sudden change. Levy seemed to appreciate it though, she sighed even though her body began to shiver. Now he just had to figure out which room was hers. "Hey, you're gonna have to help me out here for a second."

"That way…" She pointed down one of the halls as if reading his mind. She seemed to be doing a little better now that she was indoors, but he still needed to get her to her bed. Gajeel carried her down the hall. It didn't seem like anyone was here at the moment, perhaps all the girls were in the guild or in their dorms? Well it was probably best no one saw him there anyways. He couldn't remember if men were allowed in the women's dorms or not. Levy coughed, "Here…"

Gajeel stopped in front of one of the doors. Crap he needed to put her down or something to open the door. Then again, she was small enough that he was sure he could hold her with one arm. Or maybe his mind was exaggerating. Still, somehow he managed to get the door open without breaking it down. He figured she probably wouldn't appreciate if he had.

He wasn't all that surprised when he saw the inside of her dorm. It was just one giant library. For a bookworm like her it only seemed fitting she'd sleep in a room full of books. Shelves filled with books of all shapes and sizes lined the walls and separated different areas of the dorm, they even piled up on the floor. Now if only he could find her bed in this room, so far the only actual furniture he saw was a couple chairs and a desk. Did she even sleep in a bed? Peaking around one of the shelves he saw it tucked away in a corner, the nightstand beside it surprisingly only had one book sitting on it, although a few were piled up on the foot of her bed. He unceremoniously laid her down on it, shoving the books out of the way so her body could stretch out.

"Thank you, Gajeel…" She said as he pulled the blanket over her.

"Don't mention it, Shrimp." He stood up straight, scratching the back of his head, "So mind telling me where I can find a kitchen in this mess?"

"I-I don't have one… I usually eat at the guild." She admitted. Figures, if she had another room to put a kitchen in she'd just fill it with more books.

"Don't you think about getting up, you hear me? I'm gonna get you somethin' to eat so you can get your strength back." He looked down at her, he didn't know why he'd decided to make her recovery his number one priority, but at this point he decided he wasn't gonna let anyone else make it their job. "You just sleep."

She smiled, nodding weakly. "Okay."

* * *

Levy had been out cold before she even heard the door close behind him. She was in such a deep sleep that she didn't even remember dreaming, just infinite blackness. It was hard to tell how long she'd been out too. She was certain she was only in the blackness for five seconds, but when her eyes opened again Gajeel had returned and he was gently shaking her awake.

Gentle. It was almost hard to imagine someone as rough around the edges as Gajeel being gentle, and he usually wasn't at least not when he handled other people. It was like he treated her like a fragile porcelain doll, who if you touched her wrong she would shatter. It wasn't true in the least, Levy could be just about as tough as he was. She knew he knew that. Perhaps he was making up for that one time.

"I bought you soup." He crossed his arms and motioned with his chin towards a brown paper bag that now sat on her nightstand next to her copy of Princess and Iron.

She attempted to sit up, but it was exhausting even thinking of moving her body. Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position, she coughed, feeling out of breath already. "Th-thank you, Gajeel… You didn't have to do that."

"You'll recover faster if you eat something." He had a scowl on his face. No, not a scowl. He seemed concerned? He reached into the bag and pulled out a bowl with a lid on it before she could exert herself anymore. He procured a metal spoon from the bag too. He popped the lid off the bowl, revealing steamy hot soup that to Levy smelled absolutely divine. There was no doubt that this was Mirajane's cooking. She almost wondered how he'd kept it so warm, but she remembered how hot it had been outside. There was no way it could have cooled off. "Eat." He said in a demanding tone. She didn't think she'd ever seen someone be so rudely caring in her life.

Levy took the spoon and dipped it in the soup, lifting it to see chunks of meat, potatoes, and various other vegetables. She blew on it so that it wouldn't be too hot when she put it in her mouth. She could feel Gajeel practically staring her down the whole time. It was a little unnerving but she popped the spoon in her mouth. She hadn't quite cooled it off enough so it still burned some of her mouth, but it was so delicious she didn't even care. "Mmm." She closed her eyes, enjoying the flavor in her mouth. It had just enough spiciness to it too that it helped her sinuses clear up a little bit, and it was smooth enough that it ran down her sore throat without being painful.

Gajeel stood there, almost awkwardly, shifting from one leg to the other. "You don't have to stand there…" She stopped eating for a moment to point her spoon. "There's a chair around the corner if you want to sit down…"

"I'm fine." She giggled lightly at his stubborness.

"Please sit down? I'd feel like an awful host if you just stood around."

"You're already an awful host, what kind of host makes their guest nurse them back to health?" Was what he said, but he still went around the corner and grabbed one of the chairs, setting it down next to her bed for him to sit in.

She smiled, "To be fair… I'm not actually making you help me."

Gajeel shifted in the chair, not saying anything else. She continued to eat her soup as he stared at the various books in the room. Her personal collection. Each book was precious to her, especially the ones that had been given to her by friends. Some of them were duplicates. Jet and Droy always bought her a book for her birthday but every time it ended up being one she already owned. She was grateful nonetheless. The most recent addition to her collection was the one on her nightstand, Lucy had given it to her. She'd said the main character reminded her of Levy. Well Levy had read it a million times and she still couldn't figure out how the main character was similar to her. However she could see how the antagonist was like the man sitting in the chair next to her.

"So…" Levy stirred the spoon in the soup. She was already starting to feel full despite not actually having eaten much of the soup.

"Hm?" Gajeel looked at her.

"Thank you… really. For taking care of me. I-it's kind of fitting really, I was too stubborn to realize how sick I was and I'm being babied by the most stubborn person I know." He arched one of his metal brows. "Th-that was meant to be a compliment…" She laughed awkwardly.

"Thanks, I think. Are you done?"

"Mhm." She nodded, he stood up and took the bowl from her, setting it on the nightstand. He paused to look at the book, picking it up and weighing it in his hand.

"What's this?"

"A book…" She said.

"No I mean what's it about?" He squinted at the cover. "Princess and Iron? What kind of title is that?"

"W-well it's about a princess who's been taken prisoner when her country goes to war with another. It's a really interesting story. Lu gave it to me."

Gajeel sat down in his chair again and opened the book. "What's so interesting about that?"

"I don't want to spoil the story…" He gave her a look. Right, he probably wouldn't read it. "Um, well the princess ends up falling in love with her captor."

"So it's just another love story?" He closed the book.

"Well… her captor is a dragon."

"What?" He looked at the book again, "Why on Earthland would a princess fall in love with a dragon?"

"Y-you have to read the book to find out!" She felt her cheeks heat up a little bit. "And the dragon is an iron dragon named Ferreustal."

"An iron dragon..?" Gajeel seemed a little interested now, flipping through the pages in the book.

She leaned back on her pillow, sighing and rolling over, "Yeah, well… I guess I'm gonna try and get more res-"

"'You're my prisoner now, girl.' Roared Ferreustal." Her eyes widened to the sound of Gajeel's voice- no he'd made his voice sound even bigger, she turned back over to stare at him. "I have no cares for the quarreling of man, but they've disrupted my peace. So I shall keep you until they decide to calm their childish tantrums."

Levy was even more surprised for what came next. He made his voice sound as high and as feminine as he possible could, which turned out sounded really, really ridiculous. "'It won't work! Humans are smarter than you give them credit.' Princess Corette yelled up at her captor. 'My father will find a way to rescue me and continue this… this meaningless war.'"

"G-Gajeel… what are you doing?"

"Huh? What does it look like I'm doing, I'm reading." He looked at her with a serious expression.

"O-out loud… like that?"

He ignored her and kept reading, "Ferreustal let out a loud grunt. 'Ignorant girl. Humans' have brains smaller than acorns. Why I'm sure yours is even smaller, you are the smallest human I've ever seen. Are you sure you're not a dwarf?'

"'I am not a dwarf!'" Gajeel threw his free arm in the air, "'I'm simply short, and my brain isn't the size of an acorn, that's impossibly small. And of all the dragons I've met you are possibly the rudest.'

"'You say that as if you've met dragons other than myself.' Ferroustal narrowed his right eye at the princess.

"'I-I have!' Corette stuttered." Levy didn't know what was funnier. Gajeel trying to imitate a girl's voice or him stuttering in a girl's voice. She covered her mouth, trying to listen quietly.

Gajeel stood up from his chair, pacing around the room. "'You are an awful liar, girl.' Ferreustal lowered his large head close to her face, keeping his eye on her. 'I don't like it when people lie to me.'"

Gajeel stopped on one side of the room and put his fist on his hips. "'A-and what do you do with liars?' Corette challenged the large gray dragon in front of her." He turned to face the other direction.

"'I eat them.' Ferreustal let out a devious chuckle, the princess still stood her ground, unafraid of him.

"'Now you are the liar! I'm of no use to you in your stomach and you know that!'

"'Hm, perhaps you are smarter than I thought, girl.' He tapped his claws against the stone ground, 'I do eat liars, that was not a bluff. However, I won't eat you. Yet.'"

He paused, looking at Levy who's hand was still covering her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter. Of course when she'd read the book it hadn't been this funny. It was a serious scene meant to display Corette's courage and wit against Ferrestal. Except in her head she hadn't imagined Corette's voice sounding like a man's voice after he'd had damage done to his groin. She would never have pictured Gajeel doing something like this. But here he was, acting out her favorite book.

Gajeel cleared his throat and resumed his reading. "'Well you're going to be stuck with me for a while, so what do you plan on doing with me?'

"'Keep you in my sight.' The dragon crossed his front legs and stared her down, the princess sat down in front of him with her arms crossed, not caring about dirtying her dress. It was already in tatters and she never liked wearing the fancy clothes anyway." Gajeel had sat down on the floor now, his legs crisscrossed. "'What are you doing dwarf?'"

"'I am not a dwarf, and I am sitting, same as you!'" Gajeel pointed his finger at an invisible dragon. "'I have nothing else to do here in this wasteland.'"

"G-Gajeel…" She mumbled through her hand, snickering a little. "Y-you really don't have to read it out loud…"

"You are allowed to laugh, Shrimp." Gajeel looked up at her. "I believe it's been said laughter is the best medicine."

"W-what..?" She stared at him, he was… trying to make her laugh? He was making a fool of himself imitating these characters in order to make her laugh? "Who told you that?"

He scrunched his brows, "Mirajane when I got your soup."

He'd actually taken someone's advice to figure out how to make her feel better. She let out a soft giggle, then it got louder and harder until she was laughing so much she had to hold her stomach and could barely breathe. It hurt her throat and made her dizzy but she didn't mind it because it was true, laughter was the best medicine. Especially when someone like Gajeel was the one trying to make you laugh.

"You don't have to laugh that much…" He grumbled, was he embarrassed? She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"S-sorry… hehe… It's just…" She smiled at him, cheeks red from laughing so hard, "Thank you, Gajeel. Thank you so much. Thank you for taking care of me." She was so grateful he of all people had taken it upon himself to nurse her back to health. It warmed her heart knowing that he really did care about her.

He just shrugged it off, "Someone's gotta do it."

"Yes, but I'm happy it's you." She blushed, looking down at her hands out of embarrassment. How close was that to actually confessing her love?

"Right. Well…" He paused. "I don't need to keep reading then if you don't want to hear it."

She looked back up at him, "Y-you can keep reading if you want, but you don't have to be so dramatic if it's embarrassing. It really is a good book."

Gajeel stood up from the floor and plopped back down in the chair, turning the page of the book. "'Wasteland? You humans are spoiled rotten.'"

Gajeel began to read to her in his normal voice and she listened carefully. It was already her favorite book, but now the book had a brand new meaning to it. At first it was only because she liked the story, but now it was her favorite because Gajeel had taken the time to read it to her, to cheer her up with it. She managed to stay awake for a couple chapters but eventually her cold had exhausted her enough that she slowly drifted off, Gajeel's voice still in her ears until she'd found herself in dreamland. There she really did become Princess Corette, trying to gain her freedom from the cold hearted iron dragon Ferreustol, only to find herself falling in love with him as he grew kinder to her over time. Even protecting her from enemies. And in the end discovering that he too had grown to love her. Certainly Levy's real life made her falling in love with Gajeel a little easier, considering he was only a dragon slayer and not a real dragon. She hoped though, she hoped her ending turned out like the one in the book. A happily ever after with the man she loved, no matter how stubborn or cold he could be. She saw the kindness in him, and that he was capable of love.

If only… if only she could find the way to tell him how she felt.

* * *

Gajeel knew that Levy had fallen asleep some time ago, but he didn't stop reading, he just stopped reading out loud. The lovey dovey bits surely weren't really his thing but there was still action and the dragon slayer had to admit the tiny girl was right, it was a good book. He read it all the way until the end, but he probably wouldn't tell her he did. He definitely wasn't going to tell her he actually liked the part where Ferreustal found a way to become human. Or where they ended up getting married and living together happily far away from the kingdoms. He didn't like those lovey dovey things, that's what he would let her and the rest of the world believe.

"What are you doing to me, Shrimp?" Gajeel leaned back in the chair, arms crossed as he watched her sleep peacefully for a few moments until his own exhaustion caught up with him. Reading that entire book was almost as tiring as running a million miles. He didn't know how Levy read several books in one day. He stayed in that chair, snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Of course, if she needed him, he'd be wide awake in a heartbeat. He wouldn't really know why, he probably wouldn't even have a clue of his own feelings for a long time. But some time in the far future, they'd both look back on that day, remembering their first story time.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little Gajevy one-shot, I happened to be looking for prompts for role plays one day when I saw the one that inspired this story. I couldn't help but think it was perfect for these two, plus how could Gajeel reading dramatically not be funny? Please leave a review telling me what you think! I'm off to look at more writing prompts.**

**EDIT: Thank you to WinterVines to pointing out that I was missing a line break before and after the first POV shift! I could have sworn I'd put them all in but when I went back and checked I was actually missing two! Wow... so much for my proof reading. I'm sorry if that was confusing for all of you!**

_"Imagine person A of your OTP is really sick one day and can't get out of bed, so along with taking care of them, person B reads them their favorite book, using lots of dramatic hand gestures and voices in attempt to make A laugh."_ — Via otpprompts on Tumblr


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